Analysis of Contract between AT&T and City of Riverside for municipal network build-out

The contract between AT&T and the City of Riverside,CA is available for public review. There is nothing unusual about the agreement, other than perhaps the dual 2.4/4.9 Ghz Band (for public safety). Here are the highlights.

• AT&T designs, builds and owns the network
• Three phases: Pilot (2sq mi, 4 month buildout), Phase 2 (55 square mile, 12 months) and phase 3, expansion to other areas, depending on population density
• Dual 2.4 and 4.9 Ghz (Public Safety) network
• Free service: 512Kbps/256Kbps – best effort (though AT T has agreed to add capacity if necessary to keep the system from deteriorating due to growing customer demand). Free service will be ad-supported though Metro-Fi
• City commits to $1M over 5 years worth of broadband services, plus another $1M for additional services. It is estimated that the City would expend total of 4M for new Products and services from ATT (our estimate for the total buildout cost  is approx 10 MM, so the city effectively pays for covers almost 1/2 of the cost)
• Minimum of 40 VLANs
• Open network: AT&T can sell direct and must sell wholesale to service providers. $12/month/account wholesale price, reviewed annually based on AT&T’s average retail rates (to ensure leveled playing field)
• Portal will allow end-user to select between AT&T and other Service Providers. AT&T receives preferential position on the portal
• Inbound and outbound roaming
• Revenue Share: AT&T pays a share of fee-based services to SmartRiverside (a non profit organization chartered with Digital Inclusion services). Resellers must also contribute an unspecified amount to SmartRiverside
• Back-haul will be the unlicensed 5.8 spectrum. “Potential” WiMax backhaul
•  Support
•     Online for free service
•     Business hours for fee-based
•     Resellers provide frontline support
• Pricing for municipal services
•     $3 / month for low-bandwidth devices (90K/90K max)
•     $28 month for 1M/512K best effort
•     $50 / month for 1m/1m 4.9 Ghz
•     $180 /mo for 5.8 Ghz 3mbps

6:53:38 PM    

More reasons for adotping FMC: More Consumers See the Benefits of using a Single Integrated Provider than Multiple Providers.

When asked separately to state the benefits of a single integrated communications provider (covering wireline, wireless, cable/tv and internet) versus multiple providers, almost 3 times as many consumers could NOT state a benefit of a multiple provider. The top benefits of a single integrated provider revolve around simplicity (see Fact 4) and money savings. Simplicity translates into one-stop shopping, a single bill per month and a single number & voice mail.
2:21:57 PM    

 NTT West Plans Wireless Mesh Across 100 Japanese Cities  The annoucement is still pretty sketchy, but it does suggest that NTT may believe it can use wireless mesh to bring video to millions of users. Cable companies, take notice?

11:31:46 AM    

Is The WiFi Revolution Underway?. ABI Research sees a rise in the demand for consumer electronic products with wireless networking capabilities and an explosive growth for WiFi with a shift in the way entertainment is delivered. The firm expects shipments of WiFi-enabled consumer electronic devices to jump from 40 million this year to 249 million in 2011. The key to this expansion is the bridge between PC and TV and the growing use of mobile telephony but content availability and bandwidth problems could present as challenges to such possibility.
[NetStumbler.com]
10:20:37 AM    

More Wi-Fi Demanded In T-Mobile Poll. A survey by YouGov revealed that WiFi users hope for more hotspots in more locations. Half of the 253 respondents want WiFi access in trains and a quarter on the tube. Some 86 perecent with laptops, however, do not know how useful having such connection during rush hour. The study also showed that 45 percent of those surveyed use the technology to keep in touch with family and friends and 30 percent believed their work/life balance improved due to high-speed wireless connectivity.
[NetStumbler.com]
10:19:50 AM